


Timed Mission

by safefontwork (customfont)



Category: Undertale
Genre: ITS SECRETLY SAD SHHHH, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Neutral-Pacifist run end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-09
Updated: 2015-11-09
Packaged: 2018-04-30 18:46:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5175458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/customfont/pseuds/safefontwork
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a race to get to the human before they reach Asgore. Can you make it in time? Player one, ready? GO!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Timed Mission

The kid walks down the hall with a sense of purpose. Bells chime. You stare at them and they turn around, illuminated in the golden light. They stare at you and then they smile. You smile back, and wave.

You feel like this isn't going to go the way it's supposed to.

\---

The boat swayed violently as they sped across the water, straight to Hotlands, past flowers and stars and snow and smiles. You fidget. Your good friend, Undyne, sits across from you, and hasn't said a word for a while now.

Earlier was the phone call. Your other good friend, the human, called you, right before they were to reach the core. You wished them luck! They were almost home and they sounded... nervous? Worried? But you and Undyne were so happy! You were so proud of them!!!! You let them know that!!! They hung up and you felt melancholy. Such a good friend would be home soon, their true home, and the chances of them ever returning were very slim. At least you had their number... But you knew it wasn't a good substitute. You wanted to hang out again, badly, but they were on the final leg of the journey.

Your emotional turmoil, however, doesn't even contend with Undyne's. She fidgets violently, jiggling her leg as she sits down, picking up strategy books and flicking between pages over again. At some point, she starts pacing, and you see the floorboards bend a bit just from her walking. Finally she lets out a frustrated growl and says "We have to go after them." You immediately understand, you agree, you have to at least send them off, maybe you could bake a cake, but without much of an answer Undyne runs for the river ferry. You chase after her, but only after you leave a note for your brother and dinner on the counter.

And this is where you've been. It's a fast ride, but the silence is making each moment creep on. Undyne keeps looking up at you, her arms crossed across her chest. She wants to say something, but she won't. You measure your next words very carefully.

"Undyne," You say finally. Your non-existent stomach is churning from the rough waters. "The human will get to King Dremurr on their own."

"I know." Undyne says. A few minutes in silence.

"The human," you begin, hesitating a bit, "Is very kind. He'll let them go." You look at Undyne and begin to think you understand the issue. "Undyne, the human wants to go home. They need to. They can't---"

"You don't GET IT!" She yells suddenly, the shock of it almost sending you reeling out of the boat. She clenches her fists, she's panting, her eyes are wide. "Asgore... He won't... He won't let them go." She slumps back into her side of the boat. You are confused. You have only met the king a few times, but you know he's a good person. You know he can see the goodness in anyone! And you know the human is good, too. Better than you thought, even.

You try to say something, but Undyne starts again. "Six souls are left. Everyone's been talking about the last human. It doesn't matter how nice they are, or how sweet they are, or how much they wanna be friends." She stares down at her hands, tightening them into fists them letting them relax again. "He needs their soul, for all of our sake. He's done it before, Papyrus. He'll do it again."

You don't want to believe that. The king looks out for everyone, even gave sympathy and shelter to a human before, though that was long ago. The other humans are barely whispered about, but they... They had to have been cruel. They had to have massacred their way through the Underground until King Dreemurr put a firm stop to their nefarious ways. This human was not like the others, not like any human he heard of. Even if he tries to initiate a fight, the human won't even raise a hand. You know that for sure. King Asgore was fair and just.

And yet. Yet. Something in your chest, behind your sternum feels Undyne is right. What is fair is not always just. A brutal war taking hundreds of lives is not just. Imprisonment underground is not just. Hundreds of years of it is not just. The cruel death of the lineage's only son is not just.

Returning to the above, with the power to make humans pay for their mistakes? Maybe not just. But it's fair. 

The air heats up a bit, you're getting closer to Hotlands now. It's a straight run through Alphy's elevator to the Capital, then straight into the king's castle to stop... Something. The king might not listen to the human. But two brave monsters? Maybe.

"I told them to talk to Asgore. And that'd he'd listen." Undyne says, quietly. "I don't know who I was lying to. Me or them." She looks at the river stretching nigh-endlessly ahead. "I sent them to their death."

You do not hesitate. You lean forward and grab her hand, holding it tight. She looks up at you, tears starting to form in her eye. "Then we'll make Asgore send them back!!!" You say, and it sounded cooler in your head, but Undyne sniffles and wipes away those tears with her arm. She's smiling again. A rough start, but good nonetheless. The boat starts to slow down, and the River Person watches on.

\---

Years and years ago, farther back than most people are alive to remember, you left your husband. This had dramatic consequences, as leaving your husband often does.

You had left because your husband was a coward of the worst kind. Your husband made promises he couldn't keep. Your husband promised bloodshed and revenge, and then cowered and waited for the bloodshed to walk to him and knock on his door.

He is pathetic, but you're not much better, are you?

You left with no grand argument, you did not split the country in two, you simply walked out one day. You did not leave a note. You did not want to cause more of a stir. As you walked carefully, people asked where you were going. Some of the more nervous types began to follow you to wherever you were going. They agreed with you, they wanted peace and no more fighting. They wanted a leader who agreed with that. You were no longer a Queen, maybe, but you were their queen now. And you would protect them with your life.

You were a woman in mourning, maybe not acting in the right state of mind. You were tired of bloodshed, were glad the first war was over, and happily lived underground. You loved your child, then loved both of your children. Then one got sick. Then the other died. Then there was nothing.

There had been seven things that turned into nothing. Each unique, each wonderful, each dead now. Now there was only the eighth, the newest, with something gentle in their eyes. When they tried to leave, you blocked the door. They didn't realize how important they were, how important that they stay away from the violent world outside your door. If they left and they lost, humanity would die out in one violent night. You... You attacked them, you're not proud to say, but all they did was wait for you. They were patient and sweet and ask you held them close you realized that if their hair was a pinch lighter, their cheeks a bit rosier, they'd...

You'd have to stop thinking like that. You let them go.

And you were going to get them back.

Your subjects were more neighbors, really, even if you did your best to keep the peace. They only left the walls of the ruins occasionally to buy groceries. But right now, they were truly devoted to you. They were scouts, spies, researches, calling friends, asking for information, checking on their cellphones for updates about the human. You did not get every word, but you got the most important bits. They had gotten past the sentries. They defeated a great knight. They were traveling through Hotlands. They had struck down guards with love. And here you were, sitting on your reading chair, hoping they knew how you prayed for them every moment.

Some point between them going back to Waterfall to make friends with the Knight they bested and the first appearance of a killer robot (goodness, things had changed out there) you started to walk down to the basement, down the hallway, down to the door. You stare at it.

You haven't left in so long. The walls here are comfortable, safe, predictable. Your people need you, but when you turn around, there they are, staring back at you.

The human needs you so much more.

You push the door open and are greeted by rows and rows of trees and whiteness. You look up and you can't even see the ceiling of the caverns, it's too foggy. It's so cold. Did they feel this cold? Did any of them did? Did any of them feel this loneliness when they stared out?

You take one step out and feel snow crunch on your feet. Another. Another. Another. You hear the cheers of your subjects. You shout how you'll be home sooner than they think, that there's plenty of food in the fridge, to keep themselves informed.

You are tired of waiting. You are not your husband. The bright whiteness swirls around you, and you are off like a shot.

\---

She pounds on your door. "ALPHYS!!!" She yells, your name no longer sweet on her tongue. "LET ME IN!!! ALPHYS!!"

You have not looked at your screens in hours. You can't look at the door. You are on your bed, crying.

"ALPHYS, YOU'RE IN THERE, I CAN HEAR YOUR RINGTONE!!!" She's been calling it nonstop. "WE NEED TO HELP THEM, ALPHYS, PLEASE!" You've never helped anyone in your life. If she rams her fists on the door any harder, it'll break, but she's holding back to give you a chance. "ALPHYS, PLEASE, WE NEED TO GET TO ASGORE, PLEASE!" Someone joins her, you recognize it as the voice of one of the skeleton sentries who really likes your inventions. "DOCTOR ALPHYS, WE REQUIRE YOUR ELEVATOR. PLEASE. THE HUMAN IS IN DANGER. OUR KING IS IN DANGER."

It wouldn't help. You know what has to happen. Someone has to die today.

You had been nervously texting her all day, telling her how sweet the human was, how you were leading them through the dangerous traps of Hotlands. She thought you were brave. She thought you were kind. All the while you were leading them towards danger so you could be the big hero, and now they were marching on their own, towards certain death. The slamming fists at your door start to weaken, turning into a knock, then to nothing. The voice is just above a whimper. "Alphys, please. They need help. Asgore will..." They pause. You clench your blankets tight.

"Fine." She says, suddenly. "FINE! IF YOU WON'T HELP ME, I'LL FIND THEM AND I'LL PROTECT THEM. AND IF THEY'RE HURT..." You want them to finish their threat, you know you'd deserve it. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THEM! YOU SAID YOU WOULD."

Stomp, stomp, stomp. Whirring of the elevator outside.

It is a very long time before you move. You head to the ground floor of your lab, and open up the elevator. You head down, down, down. You will not come back up.

\---

You are struggling to get through Hotlands now. Some of the elevators are out because vines have twisted in the machinary, so it's the old fashion way of stairs and climbing and running through the worst place in the Underground. The heat is oppressive and fills your lungs, any hotter and you think you might blister from the inside-out.

You wanna say you've been through worst, but no examples come to mind. But you need to press on, even if your pace is slowing down. Someone needs your help.

Papyrus is beside you, gracefully matching your pace. Good ol' Papyrus. You're around the same age, but he reminds you of a younger version of yourself. You want to keep him that way, almost, want to make sure the darkness of the world doesn't get near him. Being part of the Royal Guard is painful work. Crime and suffering were your companions, impatience and hubris your... coworkers? This metaphor was going somewhere, but it's so hot in here. You hate it here. You hate it so---

You trip and you eat shit. Like, bad. Really bad. You scramble your arms out to break your fall, hear Papyrus call for you, but you slam onto a rock and whatever wind you were storing in your gils leaves pretty quickly. You roll off and start coughing hideously. Just barely over it, you hear Papyrus scrambling to you.

"Undyne?" He says. He sounds like he's going to cry. You try to wave your hand nonchalantly, say Papyrus, I'm fine, but all that comes out is COUGH COUGH HACK COUGH. You can't open your eyes. This feels pathetic. You've been hurt much much worse, but the burning air is harder to breathe in. You try and push yourself up, you are clawing at the dirt, trying to drag yourself ahead. You stand up, hold your stomach, and then you're wracked by a stabbing pain in your chest and go to your knees. You don't have time for this! You're so goddamn frustrated. Someone is scared and lost and hurt and it's your fault!!

You feel Papyrus's hands grab your arms and feel him hook them around his shoulders. He lifted you onto your back without much effort. You forget how strong he is sometimes. You're still coughing, but you still try to properly position yourself for a piggyback ride on a skeleton.

You're remembering all the sparring matches you've had now. Papyrus's enthusiasm for tactics has left you almost out of moves at this point, as he can predict each twitch of your hand with about 98.99% accuracy (his words, not yours, math sucks). But he never gets the last move, and that's the part that you know will be his downfall. He can trip you up, he can distract you and jab at you but at the end of the fight, he's on his back with a spear at his neck bones and applauding you. He loves too much. He's positive that no one will ever take a life willingly.

You know how wrong he is.

The life of all monsters is precious, but you give favor to your friends. You'd do anything to protect this tall drink of calcium, but you know that means sabotaging his dream. This has been eating at you since you met him, and it's just grown stronger and stronger as time goes by.

You don't go much slower, really, he keeps up the pace and doesn't stop, not even to say hi to confused residents. Your chest still hurts, but your breathing begins to steady. "Are you alright?" He says, finally, huffing a bit. You say yes. Your throat hurts a little. Papyrus, he was so smart, resourceful, he really knew how to roll with it.

Life could end in the Underground soon, and you'd still be lying to him. If, god, if Asgore succeeds... The bloodshed would be immediate, the carnage immense. Humans would lose easily, and monsters now would finally know what winning a war really meant. 

And Papyrus would be down in the catacombs, the whole time, mourning over the loss of a friend and putting together that all the coffins down there were too small for human adults.

"Papyrus," You say, sucking in a breath. He gives a Mhmm in response. "I don't think I could let you in the Royal Guard."

No faltering. No reply. "You're really sweet, Papyrus, too sweet. You're a good sentry. You're a good cook. You..." You breath in, trying to sugar him with more compliments. But he stops you.

"That doesn't matter now, Undyne. The human matters."

Somehow, that's the right answer.

\---

You flicker back to home to check on Papyrus and Undyne, but they're both gone. A note attached to some spaghetti tells you not to worry, they're on a rescue mission, here's dinner, please go to sleep at a reasonable hour.

You can't help but smile a bit. Papyrus had been worried to bits, and then Undyne stayed with them, and then UNDYNE was worried to bits, all over the kid. You wanted to give them updates, that they were fine, that you were just chilling with them at a restaurant, but you know that would bring up some... suspicions. About you. About what you are. What you can do. What you're capable of. You catch yourself before you get upset again.

You've been separated from everyone for a while, looking from the outside in. You don't know how long. You remember an accident at the lab you used to work at, you know you're trying to rebuild and understand, but the purpose is a bit shaky. What's more concrete is how important the human is to... Hell, everyone now.

They've been important before, of course, just in ways they you can't really articulate. You think you're the only one who's known how many times they've started over to get it right. A pile of someone's dust near the ruin's exit. A self defense wound that become fatal. Slowly less scared. Slowly figuring it out. You were proud, looking at them now. They tried and they tried and they tried again.

And now you flicker back to the core, watching them from a far off railing. This place is familiar, brings back fond and foul memories, but you focus on the kid so much that you forget. Man, the security here was getting bad, they were letting any jerk in a dollarstore witch hat through to go after the kid. At least they were reluctant at this point. At the beginning, people picked fights with the kid for a lot of reasons. Frustration, sadness, fear. Glory was the most common one, of course, but that was quickly snuffed out as soon as someone realized glory isn't gained by attacking an opponent that refuses to fight back.

You need to focus. The kid was getting near the last elevator, and then it was near smooth sailing 'til Asgore.

You wonder if the kid even wanted to go home anymore. Or did they even have a home? You knew the felt scared, wanted to get out of this unfamiliar world, but now... They seemed to take things in stride now. They're comfy here. Do they know that that means for them? For monsters? For everyone?

These are big questions you can't answer. Only the kid can, but not yet. So you just focus on them and watch them slide through the last door, the good Doctor Alphys frantically going after them. You remember this part from another time, watching her bang on the door and try to listen in on her phone.

This part always takes a while, so you end up hopping around through the old labs. Jeez, the place really had changed. The whole layout was different, some parts didn't even look that well looked after for such an important part of the Underground. A lot of the pipes even had... 

Vines on them.

Something's wrong here. Very deeply wrong. Vines and roots and petals and laughter echoing off the cavernous walls of the Underground.

You flicker to the grand hall of the castle. You can't screw around anymore. You wait for the kid to come to you and hope they don't mess up. You can't do this adventure for them.

\---

You're already almost there, but so much has changed. You can't stop to think about it, you just walk through the busy streets. You overhear passing conversations now and again, whispering of humans and what to do on the outside. To disappoint them now would save billions, but you know their heartbreak would be palpable. The underground almost runs on hope anymore.

You shake your head. The streets are the same, at least, even if the aesthetics are different. When the castle finally is no longer just horizon, but something you can touch, you allow yourself to slow down and breath. Looking at it, it's almost a monument to stubbornness, to refusing to change. It's old and regal arches and towers look tacky against the modern buildings, but, you reason, you're not too much better.

You run around the block and hope Asgore didn't have the sense to block off one of the old emergency exits.

\---

You were almost there now. When the temperature cooled, Undyne leapt off your back and bolted towards the last elevator, prying it open while it was between floors and crawling into it. She easily yanked you inside and didn't seem to mind the freaked out citizens that surrounded you two now. When it opened, people clambered to get out, but you feasted your eyes on the city.

You lived here once, a long time ago, or maybe not that long ago, but the memories are fuzzy. You know something really really REALLY bad happened to Sans here, and that he changed completely after that. He got lazier and lazier. Somedays he wouldn't get out of bed. But it wasn't the laziness that he has now, it was something different, something that was eating him alive. You didn't understand, Sans wouldn't elaborate.

You know you saw an opening for two sentries and that you begged to be able to prove yourself. Sans didn't have to grovel, you knew from all the magic tricks he taught you he was beyond powerful when he wanted to be.

The change of scenary didn't do much at first. Sans had friends again, but he still seemed... Empty. You were upset at first, then angry, then upset again. You're not fantastic at talking your feelings out, but you were so frustrated! All these changes and Sans didn't even open up.

And then the human came. Suddenly, Sans started to be himself again. He was traveling more. Smiling again, for real, he was journeying and running out the door, excited to work. You have trouble remember the last time you saw your brother like this.

Did the human realize how important they were? If they did, would they stay?

You try not to think like that as you run towards the castle's entrance, but you it pervades your thoughts. The human didn't talk about themselves. What was so good up there that they didn't have tenfold down here?

\---

"IT'S IMPORTANT BUSINESS, SO LET ME THROUGH!" You scream at the guards, but they won't listen. You are the captain of the Royal Guard, but Asgore's power still trumps yours. You're already pissed, but now you're getting livid.

"Captain Undyne, ma'am, we told you. Asgore's castle is closed off until they're... Finished with the human." One of the guards say. You hear Papyrus make a distressed whimper. How dare they!!!

"Captain, if it was anything else, we'd let you two through, no problem, but---"

"But this isn't anything else, you jerks!! I need to see Asgore before the human gets there. I need to see the human! I need too... I need too--!!!" You're getting too scrambled to get your words out, and this is no time for breathing exercises. You could break in, you guess, but where and how? You could fight these guys, but that would waste time.

"Captain, I have to ask you to leave, please, at least until this is over. Asgore will see you then." There it is!!! You're livid!!!!!!

"And what about after it's over? What if I want to see the human?" You say bitterly. The guards glance at each other, and you know under their masks they're more than a little upset. "Undyne, you know what's going to..."

"UGH! WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!!!" Papyrus suddenly shouts. Bones sprout out of the ground and surround the guards, imprisoning them. They shout, cursing in confusion, but Papyrus pushes forward and gets the door open, starting to run ahead.

"UNDYNE, COME ON!! THERE'S NOT MUCH TIME LEFT!!!" He shouts. You run after him. You're so proud!

\--- 

Your old house is the same. The paintings are the same. The books are the same. All that's new is buttercups, buttercups, buttercups, covering the surfaces. You can't linger, you feel ill just staring at the living room. That's where your children would read together. There's where dinner was served. That's where you would curl in front of the fireplace with him, warm and safe Underground, free from the humans.

He's kept some of your notes around from before you left, pasted on the fridge. Recipes overflow the trash can.

You feel nothing but pity.

You rush to the hallway and you're overwhelmed, however. The way the light shines through the windows, hearing the bell toll distantly. You stare and feel sick nostalgia like bile in your throat.

Your children. Your children. Your child. Where were they? Were they scared, crying, already dead? Who hurt them? They would get an apology. This time, they would, this time you'd be able too---...

You feel hot tears rolling down your face, feel hate and fear and love tense your chest, make it impossible to breath. You're back here, back where your children died, back where every single one of them died. You're heaving and you curse yourself for this, this weakness, feeling paralyzed with anxiety. Go. Go now, or else more blood is on your hands, you say. You're worse than him. You just let them walk the death march to him. You can't even get near the throne room without seeing dust sparkle and scatter in the light again. You're pathetic. You should go back and cower in your forgotten kingdom again.

You hear something. Shuffling. Is someone in here? Is someone coming? "H-hello?" You say. It snaps you back a bit. Asriel won't come running through here with flowers he picked. You're here now, long long long after the dust settled.

You eye the columns suspiciously, but you can't hesitate any longer. You say "Thank you" to nothing and keep running.

\---

You recognize the voice instantly, but you know you can't say anything. You hear her sobbing and just press yourself tighter against the column. Final countdown now. Couldn't interfere.

You feel sick and useless. You've never been able to fix things before. You're an outsider. You're an observer.

She says thank you and you hear footsteps down the hall. When you're sure she's gone, you say you're welcome.

\---

"Papyrus," Undyne says. You turn to her. "When we get to the human, we'll all live together." It's wistful, which is a tone you didn't think you'd ever use to describe Undyne's voice. You're confused.

"Undyne!" You start, always feeling it was something like this. "But they have their own home. They can visit whenever, though."

"They can't."

You almost stop, but you know better at this point. "What do you mean? Asgore will just keep them trapped?" Your voices echo off the walls and you begin to realize just how loud you usually talk. Jeez louise.

It's nothing but boots slamming against tiles for a few moments. "To cross the barrier, you need a human soul plus a monster's."

"That's not right!" You say quickly. Where would they get such a silly idea? But Undyne furrows her brow.

"It is." She's almost out of breath, and you both round a corner. "It-it's always been that way. Everyone thinks humans can just walk right on out, but they can't, they need too-- They need to kill someone."

Now that stops you in your tracks. Undyne stops with you and hunches over, breathing quickly. Something like dread is starting to weigh you down. "B-but... That's not..." You don't know what to say. How do you even refute that? You begin to realize how little you really know about this place.

"It's a lie. It always has been, s-so that people like us would... Would stop them... There's be a lot of lies like... Like..." She shakes violently, her breath is catching in her chest . You fear that maybe the fall she took was worse than either of you realized. She doubles over and her shoulders shake. What even do you do now? Do you pick her up again and try and take her to the hospital, dooming the human? Do you leave her behind and run ahead, letting her dust away? You realize that maybe Undyne was right. Maybe you're not suited for the Royal Guard if the sight of her like this, staring at the floor and making all these weird breathy hiccups, is proving to be too much.

But she looks up at you and tears are staining her face. "They can't go home, got it? S-so we... We gotta..." She's whimpering, which, again, is not a word you'd ever use to describe a noise Undyne would make, but it's the closest thing you have. "We have to give them the best home we can! Better than whatever trashheap they crawled from!" She stands up and grabs your shoulders. All you can do is nod. You feel yourself crying, too. She grabs your hand and you both run together for this final lap. You are happy for some constants while the world as you know it shatters.

\---

"Human," You begin. "It was nice to meet you." You wield your trident. You will show no mercy now. You cannot afford to.

\---

Around this point things stop. The world just pauses. Everyone stops in mid stride and things seem to slow, slow, halt, then blackness. The whole world ends for about fifteen minutes, then it starts back up. No one quite gets what happens other than those who were by the barrier, but everyone around the Underground heard someone laugh.

\---

You run down halls, past the brick walls and the flowers past the throne and finally, blessed finally you get to...

Every move you make feels less important than the last. Archway, empty room, the pulse of the barrier, petals on the floor, blood drips, ashes and a cape and crown and armor and a trident in the middle of it. You stare and slowly walk, feeling like a marionette. You kneel in front of your husband's remains and hold his cape in your fingers. You made this. It's been sloppily repaired over and over again, but he kept it all this time.

He is a cruel heartless beast. He built his utopia on the suffering of innocents, and got what he deserved when an innocent finally struck back.

You weep for him.

\---

The doors already open but you kick it open the rest of the way. "ASGORE, HUMAN, YOU HAVE TO---"

A woman on her knees is in the middle of the room, weeping as she clutches Asgore's cape. She doesn't notice you, and you stop paying attention to her when you see the mess of dust on the ground.

"Oh no." You're not sure who said it, you think you might've. You walk to the remains, each footstep feeling heavy and loud. You drop to your knees. "A-Asgore?" You ask, as if expecting him to respond. "D-did the human." You don't know how to finish that sentence, you just shake, holding your hands about what was once Asgore.

He hurt them, you know it. Gentle Asgore, good king Dreemurr tried kill him. You can visualize it. The black armor, the trident, the blood on the floor. The human crying and begging for mercy. You're so incredibly angry at him, realizing everything he betrayed everything he ever taught you, but your grief drags you down and threatens to suffocate you. The kid hit back, and harder. He deserved it. And he just wanted to give everyone a better life. He--... He...

It's all blurry, but you feel Papyrus's hand on your shoulder. He doesn't say anything. You think you hear someone else start to walk in, but stop short through the doorway. So close to the surface, to the sky, you hear thunder rumble. The light streaming through starts to turn grey, all that illuminates the room is the vague hum of light through the barrier.

There's a deafening crack, lightning striking, and a humanoid figure's shadow covers the whole room during the flash.

\---

You watch as Undyne suddenly scrambles up towards the barrier. The human is by it, curled in a ball, facing away from them. She stops short, gets on her knees. You run over to accompany her.

"K-kid?" She says, and the human jolts and turns to you. Relief crosses their face, then panic again. A swollen lip and a cut down their cheek, a hole burned through their sweater. You see floating in their hands is Asgore's soul, starting to crumble. Undyne refuses to look at that, however. "D-did he try to hurt you?" The human nods. You feel numb. "B-but you won. Hehe. See! Y-you won... He didn't..." She swallows hard. "I'm sorry I l-lied. I thought--- I really thought he'd change his mind. He shouldn't have done any of that. I-it's ok." Undyne holds up her hand and starts to reach out. "C'mon. We'll worry about this later, you look so ti---" Her fingers spark and she flinches back. She stares.

They're past the barrier already. 

Undyne's expression shifts, her forgiving smile dropped and her pupil shrinking, darting all around the human and the soul and the barrier. She stands slowly, wobbling a bit on her feet. The thin air around you all seems to change.

Spears shoot up from the ground, surrounding her. You jump back. Before you can say anything, she picks one up and strikes.

\---

You barely know what's happening until you hear Undyne scream and you see electricity sparks fly from the barrier. It's the sound of glass crashing and thunder. You run, run past the dust and your mystery woman and you watch as Undyne slashes at the barrier. With each hit, she's paralyzed there as lightning shocks her, keeping her in place until she pulls away. Her spear crumbles in her hands, and she just picks up a new one.

She slashes again and keeps there, longer this time. You glance at your brother and he looks terrified, trying to say Undyne's name but nothing comes out. The barrier flashes and you swear you see the light crawl up her veins. "I'M GONNA GET YOU BACK!" She screams as she slashes again. "I PROMISED I'D PROTECT EVERYONE!" Her voice is getting shakier and she's going longer against it. The barrier isn't budging. Undyne is weeping. "IF ANYONE CAN BREAK IT, IT'S ME!" The human looks terrified, and you have to glance away.

As she connects with the barrier, Papyrus finally speaks, well, shouts. "UNDYNE," He grabs her as sparks fly and now he's being hurt too, the current flowing through both of them, but he's still trying to wrench her back. "YOU'RE-- HURTING--- YOURSELF" He growls out and suddenly both of them stumble back. Undyne is staring at him and seething, spears starting to swirl around her again. "WHAT DID YOU DO!?" She screams, you see her fists clenching together so tight blood drips from her palms. You want to get between them, but no, this is Papyrus's fight right now. "I ALMOST HAD IT!!! I ALMOST HAD IT!!!" She repeats it over and over and it slowly gets quieter and quieter until she's shaking and holding herself.

A lot happened today. Papyrus pulls her in close and you start to walk over. You are stopped by the mystery woman running between you three, hands ablaze, and you watch her strike the barrier.

\---

Each hit is a dull thump and you barely notice the lightning as it crackles around you, all that matters is making your flames grow brighter and brighter until the barrier crumbles to ashes around your feet.. It swirls around you, part of you. You were too late for Asgore, but it's not too late for them. They need you. You cannot fail them.

The barrier is steadfast against each punch and you feel the flames nearly engulf you. You smell burning flesh, but you're not going to glance back at the gang of fools that paraded into here. All that matters is the child. Who will protect them after this? Who will teach them and feed them and tuck them in at night? You can only remember your first human, hearing them scream at night from the evils of what humans could do to their own kin.

As you draw your fist back, you catch a glimpse of their face through the flames. They're weeping. They look terrified. You sink to your knees and stare at your hands, your knuckles. Lightning charred the fur around them away and there's just blood and blisters and redness underneath.

\---

Sans runs up to Toriel and shakes her shoulders. "A-are you ok?" He says. "Oh, god, your hands, it's ok, we can help you, I-I'll get someone." But he doesn't move away from her, wouldn't dare.

Papyrus practically shambles to you, smiling, despite how worn and hurt and tired he looks. "You did your best." He says. 

Undyne sniffles hard and nods. "Y-you did. You're really strong, kid. I-I'm proud of you. You didn't do anything wrong, ok? W-we... We forgive..." Her shoulders shake and she starts crying again.

You didn't mean to hurt anyone, but would they believe the truth? You weakened him for the death blow. The dust is on your hands and his soul is weakening as you stay here. You can't go back. You're a murderer.

"Child." Toriel says, turning her head towards you. "You did what you had to. It's ok. B-but..." Deep breath. "Y-you have to go home now. That's what you wanted, right? You have a family waiting for you." You don't, but you nod anyway. "They must miss you. You're so special, my child." You don't her to see you cry, so you look down. "It's ok, it's ok. This dark place... It isn't meant for you. It isn't meant for anyone."

You can't do it anymore. You start running, running out, fast and faster. You glance back, once, you see them waving, and you turn back again. Just as you leave, Asgore's soul finally disapates. You Emerge from the top of the mountain as rain pours down.

You want to go home, but you can't.


End file.
